Mamata to hit the streets against Singur verdict

Smarting from the Calcutta High Court punch that knocked out the Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Act, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, her party leaders, a section of intellectuals and a few small political parties met on Saturday to decide on a series of agitations to instill confidence among farmers.

On Saturday, in a two-hour closed-door meeting at the Town Hall in Kolkata, a carefully drafted course of action was drawn up to take the fight forward politically. Government lawyers have already announced that they would appeal in the Supreme Court.

After the meeting no Trinamool leader, however, spoke to the media, which was instead briefed by smaller allies and intellectuals.

“On the one hand we will fight against the verdict in the Supreme Court and on the other we will conduct a series of agitations in Kolkata, the districts and at Singur to express solidarity with the farmers. All those present in the meeting are united to the cause of returning land to the unwilling farmers,” said Samir Putatunda of Party for Democratic Socialism, after emerging from the meeting.

Friday’s verdict terming the Singur Act as unconstitutional came as the biggest blow to the CM, who rode a land agitation wave to trounce the 34-year old Left rule in the state. The verdict was termed as a rude halt to Banerjee’s dreams of restoring land to Singur farmers.

On Saturday Mamata revived the Krishijami Bachao Committee – a rainbow coalition of Trinamool and small parties, activists and intellectuals originally formed to thwart the Left Front’s efforts to acquire land for industry.

It has been interpreted as a tactic by Mamata to reach out to her old allies, who had drifted apart over the months.

Significantly, Mamata herself has never visited Singur, to which she perhaps owns the biggest political debt, after becoming the chief minister.